Madigan spending plan shows need for real balanced-budget rules
Madigan spending plan shows need for real balanced-budget rules
Illinois' budgeting process is not fair to the people of Illinois.
Illinois' budgeting process is not fair to the people of Illinois.
llinois Comptroller Leslie Munger said Speaker Madigan's budget proposal would increase the state's unpaid bills to $15 billion and cause eight to nine month payment delays for vendors.
Find out how your lawmaker voted on Madigan's spending plan.
Illinoisans may elect who goes to the House of Representatives, but they don’t choose their representation – at least not in any meaningful sense. The power belongs to Madigan. And he represents himself.
Illinois House Democrats failed to muster the 71 votes needed to override Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto of HB 580, which would have allowed government-worker unions to remove the governor from labor contract negotiations and replace him with a panel of unelected arbitrators.
Despite a constitutional requirement to do so, Illinois politicians have not passed a balanced budget since 2001.
Illinois government-worker unions demand pay that outstrips that of Illinois private-sector workers and propose numerous tax hikes to fund their contract demands.
The Illinois auditor general found the Illinois Lottery in violation of a state finance law for paying $20 million to ensure that, even in the absence of a state budget, Illinois could continue to participate in the Mega Millions and Powerball games.
State lawmakers propose regressive tax on sugary drinks to help fill budget holes created by decades of irresponsible policies.
Thanks to new government reporting standards, Chicago’s municipal-workers and laborers pension funds’ debt doubled in 2015 to more than $21 billion. That’s $20,500 of pension debt per Chicago household.
A soda tax would fall upon those who can afford it least, and would serve only as another tax hike “solution” for a state that has a spending problem.